"Find everything you needed?" The blockish Acolyte asked as they exited the Factory.
"Mostly." Kint replied, eyes readjusting to the Shrouded streets. "Looks like the Lord was right."
"Of course he was." The Acolyte grinned, scowl returning the next moment. "Anything else you need here?"
"We'll need to canvas the area. Make it look right." Kint stated, gesturing to one of the Apartments across the way. "Things should be pretty well sewn up after that."
The Acolyte gave a stern nod. "No need to check the bodies after all, eh?"
Kint shrugged, noncommittal.
"I wasn't sure earlier, but the Lord always picks his emissary's well." Pride gleamed in the mans eyes. It seemed they genuinely enjoyed working for the Lord Crecius. "Do what you need to. The quicker we get this cauterized the better."
Cauterized... Kint noted the choice of words. "Understood." He replied, deeming the interaction over.
The two made their way toward the Apartments, searching for Payter's shadow in the Shroud. Identifying the youth by his uniform, Kint called him over, interrupting his conversation with a slender Kadenite. Elsha followed behind quietly. She seemed content to let Kint handle the more tedious work. He hoped his scolding had set her straight, but he doubted it. More likely she was observing him in this new element.
The boy arrived, brushing the wrinkles from his pants with an earnest intensity.
"What do you have for us, son?" Kint asked.
The boy straightened up and began reciting his deeds.
"I went through each apartment building and knocked on the doors of every resident." He began in that instructive tone. "Only five of the apartments across the three buildings were occupied. I assume most of the occupants are still at work."
"You assumed?" Kint cut the boy off. "Do we know if those occupants even had tenants?" He prodded
The boy took on a concerned expression, "I... I didn't know."
"Did you think to ask the ones who would talk to us about it?" The old inspector pushed.
"I... No." The boy replied, looking down in shame.
Sloppy.
"But you did talk to some tenants, right?" Elsha prompted the boy to continue.
"Yes." He said, back on task. "I was able to speak with five residents in the apartments. None of them were very forthcoming with information, but three of them were willing to talk."
The boy looked to Kint, expecting to be admonished again. But Elsha cut in again before he could speak.
"Three should be enough for what we need. Right Kint?" She asked, giving him a meaningful look.
"Yes..." Kint responded slowly, recognizing he'd been a bit too harsh with the boy. "That'll be fine... Uhh... did you write down the unit numbers for those who will speak with us?" Kint added, working to paper over his misstep.
The boy reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it to Kint.
He looked at the writing on the paper, then folded it again, and nodded to the young lad.
"Thank you." Kint said, hesitating a moment before continuing. "This is good work."
The boy nodded again, but otherwise did not acknowledge the compliment.
"You can go now, Payter." Elsha added, "Go tell Fezzy we should have things wrapped up here by tonight. I'm sure he'd love to hear it."
The young redhead turned to go but paused after a few steps. "You should speak to Mr. Namzeth first." He commented, pointing to the slight man sitting on the stoop of a nearby building. "He seemed like a talkative sort."
The two Inspectors nodded in unison and observing the boy until he turned a corner.
"What's chaffing you?" Elsha asked, with a skeptical eyebrow.
"The Shroud here is so thick... irritates the skin." He commented, not answering her question. Elsha looked at him for a long moment. He could see that she wanted know more, to ask another question, but she let it lie.
Kint himself was not ready to let it go so quickly. He liked the boy. He never begrudged the child his ambitions. So why be so harsh with him? Was the pressure of the black seal weighing on him... Or was it the Silent State eroding him again... He grimaced.
Better to teach than to scold. He affirmed, shifting his thoughts to the future. Don't want to dampen the fire of youth.
Kint shrugged his shoulders and cracked his neck, beginning to make his way to the lean out line of Mr. Namzeth. Running a hand through his hair, he felt a bit more himself as they reached their first witness.
He would be better next time.
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Just as young Payter had described, Mr. Namzeth was a talkative sort. The two met Kurden Namzeth on the stoop of his apartment. The man looked almost gaunt upon close inspection. His clothes were of a better stock than Kint would have imagined in this area, with a mostly wrinkle free buttoned up white shirt, suspenders, and gray pants. Despite his gossipy nature, the man had a distrustful look about him. He wore his horn-rimmed glasses high on his nose, his hunched posture making it seem like he was looking out from under them.
According to Mr. Namzeth, many of the residents of this quarter had left over the last few months after the factory shut down. He was pretty sure the Plant was most recently used to make those new flying devices they had in the Ignatium, although he'd never seen one being used so he couldn't be certain. He'd lived in this quarter for almost twenty years, and had worked all over the district, doing quite well for himself.
The man spoke as if he were 100 years old, but he couldn't have been more than forty. Although, in a mule district like this, forty might as well be a lifetime.
Mr. Namzeth spoke of how the district was always changing, new renters always coming in and making new products. Some owners were more difficult than others, but most were bad. Namzeth seemed to make out alright either way, though. The man had a job that was needed in every plant. He was a manager. He was good with numbers, he could monitor outputs and inputs. And since the cost of living was cheaper in the 11th Inkhold District than in most others, he was also cheaper than bringing in an outsider. And while his wages didn't come close the standard of even a middling district, he made far more than the average laborer here.
People probably hate this guy. Kint mused.
"So what happened in there? Eh?" The man asked, after a spilling every scrap of history he had on the district and his life in it. "Was it that damned Mr. Insmuth? He's always getting into some kind of trouble." The man rubbed his hands together as he spoke, "The man may be one of those junior Acolytes, but if he's been messing with the property of a renter." A small smile split the slender mans lips.
He doesn't seem to like them much either.
"But not even that oaf would be stupid enough to break into a renters property... If he was drunk enough though..." The man was talking to himself at this point. Eventually he came out of his daydreams long enough to remember where he was. "Oh... ummm... what is the crime exactly, anyway?" He asked, realizing he'd spoken for several minutes without actually understanding why the two Inspectors had shown up.
"Double murder." Elsha chirped. Mr. Namzeth stiffened.
"Double murder..." He repeated, putting a finger to trembling lips.
"Yes, quite a gruesome affair really." The vixen mentioned. "Two Acolytes, dead on the floor, not a trace of the killer. He's still out there... probably still in the area I gather." She said with mocking concern.
"Acolytes..." The man repeated. "If it's Acolytes--" Mr. Namzeth cut himself off as a thought came to him. For the first time he truly looked at Kint and Elsha, taking in their faces. "I... I don't recognize you two. Are you new to the area?" Elsha raised an eyebrow at the man surprised that he hadn't picked up on the colors of their suits, or any of the context clues that marked them as outsiders.
Kint pulled the gold sigil of the Black Seal from his coat, showing hit to the Kadenite. At the Sight of it, the manager went paler still.
"Lord Crecius..." The man muttered. "Black seal..." He finished, urgency in his voice.
"Mr. Namzeth, what can you tell us about the events that took place last night at the factory?" Kint questioned. "Was there anything you heard or saw that was odd to you in any way?"
"Black seal..." the man muttered again. "No..." Then with a bit more force, "No. I haven't heard anything-- seen anything. I go to bed quite early you see, and I'm a very heavy sleeper." The man said quickly, words spilling from his mouth.
"Are you sure?" Kint probed, at this point, he was enjoying the mans squirming.
"Sure... Yes, sure. I'm definitely sure. Nothing happened last night that I could tell." The man said, he backed away as he spoke. "I'm truly sorry Inspectors, but I just cannot be of any more assistance on this matter. I'm very busy and I really must be going." The man grasped for the apartment door.
"Mr. Namzeth..." Elsha said as the man opened the door.
"Please." He begged, "I really must be going. If you have questions about the goings on at night, you should ask the Insmuth family. They have a young baby. I doubt the women has slept in weeks." He closed the door behind him.
"Should we... Go after him?" Elsha grinned.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
"No." Kint said, unable to help a smile of his own. "He's an odd sort. But I doubt he knows anything. I have a feeling, if we'd pressed him, he'd just make something up to get us out of his hair."
"He'd probably pin it on those poor Insmuth's." Elsha joked.
Kint snorted, taking out the sheaf of paper Payter had given him. "Come on. Looks like the Insmuth's are right next door."
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The Insmuth's apartment was on the second floor of the neighboring building. When Kint knocked on their door, it opened only a crack, revealing the haggard profile of a young woman.
"Who are you?" Came the accented voice of Mrs. Insmuth.
"We're Inspectors from out of District, here under the black seal." Kint stated.
"yeah?" She said questioningly, "Got some proof o' that?"
Kint held out the Sigil as he'd done for Mr. Namzeth, but this time the witness grabbed the golden symbol, bringing behind the door with her.
"Mrs. Insmuth, please, we're just here to ask a few questions. We'll be out of your hair in a moment." Elsha said.
The young woman peaked back through the crack in the door, handing back the sigil.
"Come in if you have to." She relented, opening the door wide for them to enter.
The room was long and thin, the furniture sparse, the walls barren. The Apartment was painted a dreary yellow. It was lit by the stale gray light that made it through the fog outside. To the left was a Kitchen with a wood stove, counters, and a dining table. The Inspectors moved deeper. Mrs. Insmuth groaned as she sat in a worn leather chair with a decaying rug beneath.
Now that he got a good look at her, the young lady was a few years younger than Elsha. She wore a loose fitting blue dress that might once have had a floral pattern on it, but no longer. Mrs. Insmuth held the baby Namzeth had mentioned in one arm, subconsciously rocking the blanket cocooned child back and forth to keep it from waking. Kint couldn't help but frown as he noticed that the upper half of the young woman's face was marked with deep purple bruises.
"Well." Mrs. Insmuth started, her voice pitched slightly lower so as not to disturb the baby.
Kint hesitated, looking at the child, then back to Mrs. Insmuth's impatient face. Her eyes were so tired, large dark circles visible on the side that wasn't swollen. "Mrs. Insmuth." He began. "A crime was committed on the Property rented by Lord Crecius Vorva late last night. We've been canvasing the area, and we're told that you might have been awake at that time?"
The young woman raised an eyebrow. "And who told you that I wonder? Namzeth I'll wager. Sending trouble my way, the bastard."
"Mrs. Insmuth, were you up last night?" Kint repeated. " Is there anything you can remember? Anything you might have heard or seen?" Kint asked, gesturing toward the window facing the factory.
"Oh, I was up last night." She replied, irritated. "With this little shite and the rotten dreams, I'm always up." She grumbled, before coming back to herself. She gave the an annoyed look. "I can't say I heard anything. But this one takes up most of my attention." She nodded to the baby. "Can't be doin' yer jobs too."
"Don't you have a husband?" Elsha questioned. "Might he have seen anything?"
"You could call him that." The woman snickered. "Aye, I'm sure he might have seen something on his way home from work."
"Really..." Kint grunted.
"But I doubt he'd remember. He was piss drunk." Mrs. Insmuth wore a sardonic smile as she continued. "Couldn't even point his pecker, he was so chapped."
Kint cleared his throat, "Where could we find Mr. Insmuth, if we needed to?" He asked.
"He's one of the Lord's lackey's." She grimaced. "He'll be at the Arena for the tournament. Like most days."
Kint filed the information away.
"Well..." Kint muttered, readying to leave. "I think we're good here Mrs. Insmuth. We know where to find you if we have any more questions."
She nodded. With those bloodshot eyes, and irritated scowl, Kint was well motivated to find the door.
He was halfway down the second floor hallway before he realized that Elsha had stayed behind. Kint turned to see her standing in front of the Insmuth's open door. She was saying something to the young woman but Kint couldn't make it out.
"Help?" The girl chided. There was bile in her voice. "Help with what?" She questioned. "What do you know about it?"
"I think--" Elsha stumbled.
"You think?" The woman asked, her words cracking like a whip. "What do you think you're going to do?"
"I..." Elsha trailed off. She was losing steam. The words stuck her like bricks.
"Nothin'. Nothin's what you're gonna do." Mrs. Insmuth answered. "We solve our own problems down here Inspector. And we don't go sticking noses into other peoples business."
The door slammed shut.
Elsha stood there, face downcast.
Eventually, she nodded. turning back to meet up with him down the hall.
Kint felt the urge to say something, but hesitated...
"Elsha..." He started, uncertain. She blinked at the word, shaking her head before giving him an uneven smile.
"I'm alright Kint." She soothed, making her way past him. "Let's move on, shall we." Her face was a mask. She did not look back to see if he was following.
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The final apartment was that of a Mrs. Tanzeen. Kint knocked on the door, Elsha sulking at his heels.
"Come in." Came a muted voice.
Kint opened the door to reveal a similar apartment shape to that of the Insmuth's, but far better adorned. The Kitchen area was of the same style as the Insmuth's as well. Kint saw the back of a graying head of hair hunched over the stove top in the corner. Mrs. Tanzeen greeted them as they entered, posture hunched over as she pulled a weathered tea kettle off the hot stove.
"Have a seat over there." She nodded her to a group of four cushioned chairs to their right, situated to face each other. "I put some tea on when that nice young man said you'd be stopping by."
The two Inspectors shared a glance before finding chairs in the sitting room.
Mrs. Tanzeen arrived a few moments later with a silver tray carrying the tea pot and three polished silver goblets. She set the tray down and backed up to sit gingerly in one of the empty chairs behind her, bringing a cup of tea with her. Kint reached out and grabbed one of the cups from the tray. Elsha declined, staring off into somewhere else.
Kint met the earnest gray eyes of Mrs. Tanzeen, as she cupped her goblet in both hands. At the insistence of those eyes, Kint took a sip of the drink. He felt a comforting warmth spread through his body, rippling like a massage across his shoulders and chest. It wasn't the best tea he'd had, but the warmth of it brought some color into the stale room.
"So." The Kindly Mrs. Tanzeen began, setting her cup back on the tray. "What brings you fine young Inspectors of the Vorvan 13th to my door? I'm led to believe there was some sort of crime at the factory?"
"Yes." Kint began, but was cut off as the old lady jumped in.
"I can't say I'm surprised." She commented, looking out a window toward the factory building. "The way things have been going in the quarter, I'm shocked it didn't happen sooner."
Kint wasn't sure what she meant by 'it' but he prodded her to continue. "What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"Well I'm sure you've noticed how few people there are in this area?" She continued.
"Yes, but don't people in this district move where the work is?" Kint asked, remembering what Kurden Namzeth had said.
"Oh, the young ones do. But most have families, and don't want to move around so much. They're happy to save up a bit of coin and wait for the next Lord to get the factory going again." She clarified, reaching out to take another sip of tea.
"So what's changed?" Kint asked, following where the woman led.
"I can't say for sure, but ever since your lord took over the factory, the folk of this lane have started straying from the Prophet's path."
"How so?"
"Well it started out slow. I didn't even notice it at first." She said, looking out the window as she spoke. "Just some extra rough housing among the children. Broken bones and scrapes is all. Nothing a little time and an apology wouldn't fix." She smiled, seeing the moments in her mind. "But then it spread to the parents. With passive aggressive comments, and sour looks in the hallways. Pretty soon it was full blown shouting matches and spilled mead. The community fell apart. No more get togethers, no more helping each other through the hard times, no more tea..." She trailed off, lost in the ripples of the brown liquid.
"So people left?" Kint asked, intrigued.
"No." She said, with a half-hearted smile she began again, "We're a stubborn folk here. People stayed even after the factory closed down..." The smile faded. "No... people didn't start leaving till the fights broke out, and the Chimmons boy broke his leg. I think that was the end of it." She shook her head. "Things couldn't be the same after that."
A depressing silence fell over the room. Kint moved to put his teacup down on the table, the warmth gone from it.
"And you think whatever they were making in the factory was the cause?" Kint asked, trying to clarify the details.
"I don't know." She sighed. "All I know is I've lived in this apartment for forty years. Seven different Lords have rented that factory, and the community we built here didn't so much as flinch." There was a bit of anger in her words as she spoke. "But when you're Lord started up... well... you see what it's like..."
Another silence. The air seemed to simmer around the old woman. Eventually she settled, reaching across the table, she picked up the still full silver cup that was meant for Elsha and offered it in her direction.
"Are you sure you don't want any tea?" The Woman asked, the heat gone from her voice. Replaced with the kindliest tone.
"No." Was Elsha's response. She didn't even glance at the dejected Mrs. Tanzeen, just stared out the window into the darkening Shroud.
"Mrs. Tanzeen." Kint began, as the elderly woman sank back into her chair. "Can you think back to last night?" He began, trying to get the interview back on track. "Did you hear any loud noises from the factory, or see anything suspicious in the later hours."
She put a finger to her lips in thought. "No... No I don't think so..." She responded, trailing off again.
Kint nodded. He'd expected as much.
She cocked her head to one side. "No..." She muttered, thinking.
"Mrs. Tanzeen?"
"Well..." She started, "I did hear some sounds late last night... aweful sounds." She slowed, searching her mind. "Screaming... a child screaming..." She shivered. "An aweful thing."
Kint's brow furrowed in consternation.
"But there are no children anymore." The old woman sighed. "So it must have been a dream... I've been having the most rotten dreams lately."
"Hmm..." Kint grumbled. Mrs. Tanzeen had put voice to his thoughts. There were no children here besides Mrs. Insmuth's baby.. and even more relevant, the crime did not involve a child. Was it a coincidence? Had some urchin had an accident in the area?
"Is there anything else you can remember?" Kint asked, searching for a better answer.
Mrs. Tanzeen thought a while longer. Ultimately, she sighed, "I'm sorry Inspector, I just wasn't paying close attention. Like I said, I thought it was all another dream." She shrugged her skeletal shoulders in apology.
"Alright." Kint muttered, getting to his feet and nudging his partner to do the same. "Thank you for your help Mrs. Tanzeen. Well, get in contact if there's anything else."
The woman followed them to the door as they exited. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help Inspectors." She said, "Please, have a blessed day."
"Thank you for the tea." Kint nodded, door closing behind them.
"Well that was a waste of time." Elsha complained as they made their way down the gray stone hall towards the exit, "Could she have been more boring?"
"I don't know..." He muttered, putting a finger to his lips. "She had an interesting story."
"If you say so." Elsha replied, indifferent. She pulled open the door to let them out onto the apartment stoop. "I'm just glad it's over."
"Over?" The heated question broke their conversation. "What's over? What have you done?" The mayor asked, his tight pants and shirt bulging at the seams. "Did you fuck me, Kint? Did you two fuck me?" The man asked in a mix of anger and desperation. His bulbous face was blushing red and slick with sweat.
"Oh, Fezzy's here, what a wonderful surprise." Elsha joked, "Couldn't wait for a report from that lacky of yours?"
The mayor looked slightly confused for a moment, then irritated. "None of that Elsha, Just tell me what's happened." He commanded, "I don't know how you could have rusted this up since this morning, but just tell me so I can deal with the blowback."
"Things were a bit testy in the Ignatium..." Elsha mentioned offhandedly.
The Mayor's eyes widened, desperate. Kint felt like he could see the darkest of thoughts playing behind the mans eyeballs.
"It's done, sir." Kint said, not wanting Elsha to draw things out. "We've completed the Seal."
The Mayors expression shifted from dispair to confusion. "It's done?" He repeated. "What do you mean 'it's done'?"
"It was a simple mission, sir." Kint soothed, "The Lord just wanted us to investigate a crime on one of his properties, make things look right. He already seemed to know who the perpetrators were, so all we had to do was collect the evidence that supported his conclusion."
"And you did that?" He asked, voice cracking in anticipation.
"Yes, sir... it's all worked out." Kint stated.
The man looked at Kint for a moment longer, trying to determine if he was joking. Eventually, he sighed. A visible weight left his shoulders, like sun had rolled off his back.
"God's Fezzy... Is it that bad." Elsha asked, a hint of pity in her voice.
The Mayor looked at them again with that quizzical eye, coming to a decision.
"Normally, no." he huffed, "But, on top of everything else, I've just found out Duchess Alendria is arriving for a surprise inspection of the Districts in three days."
The two Inspectors shared a look. "That makes sense." She muttered, "Lord Crecius gave us two days to finish the investigation."
The Mayor grunted in acknowledgement, "Then it's good that you finished this quickly. One less worry." Kint noted a flinch around the large man's eyes as his other worries came to the forefront. "I wouldn't expect praise for your efforts though." Fezelin noted, "Lord Crecius isn't that sort of man."
"Oh we know." Elsha commented, "He made that quite clear."
A sardonic smile bloomed on Mayor Fezelin's lips. "I'm sure he did." He quipped, smile falling just as fast. He took a heavy breath in, layers of fat rolling through the motion. He seemed to relax a bit more upon letting it out.
He gave a frustrated look to his subordinates. "Now... can you two help me find the damned tube station. This place is a blasted maze."